


Bad Blood

by Space_Samurai



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M, Heavy Petting, Mando is Inexperienced, No Romance, Touch-Starved, Xi'an is Not Nice, helmet stays on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:21:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21812095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Space_Samurai/pseuds/Space_Samurai
Summary: “A lady never tells,” she says with laughing eyes and a smirk.Xi’an brings a bad taste to his mouth. Mando hasn’t missed her.-Mando and Xi’an have history.
Relationships: The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Xi'an (The Mandalorian TV)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 140





	Bad Blood

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know what this is. I just liked the idea of Mando having some sort of past with Xi'an, girl looked at him as if he were a snac. Who can blame her tho.
> 
> Also, this isn't romantic at all.

In later years, he would come to try his best to ignore and forget the years he spent with Ran, Quin and Xi’an. At the time, he can’t erase them from his memory, they had been a pretty decent team. Xi’an and Quin had a job that allowed them to do what they liked the most: kill. Ran was far from being a good person, but he had a smart head on his shoulders and a cunning mind behind his dirty face.

Mando had just needed a permanent job, their bunch was as good as any.

He was young, new to the trade and full of hate for the Empire. Their little group never worked for the Rebellion, but they did work with warlords and cartels that were eager to get imperials out of their turf. Xi’an would accuse him of enjoying the slaughter and he’d deny it vehemently. He would eventually learn that staying silent was the best way to shut her up.

He learned a lot by living in close quarters with the lot of them. For example, that no one was to be fully trusted.

He was never stupid enough to trust Xi’an, but he had been stupid enough to let her get under his skin. And eventually, his armor.

He had been young.

It had been at least ten years since anyone had laid a hand on him. Women at the cantinas and bars didn’t like strangers with full body-armor. They were dangerous and letting them get touchy with them could end up badly, so he never received any propositions. Not that he was actively looking for them either.

Xi’an liked to kill, but she also liked fear as a whole. Mando had noticed how she would be careless in battle. She _enjoyed_ putting herself at risk, the adrenaline that would run through her veins at the face of danger. He suspected that it was because of that that she made it her personal mission to get on his nerves.

He never quite understood what she was hoping to accomplish with the teasing and suggestive comments. Back on then, he had been rather thickheaded and blind to the woman’s advances, as he was so used to his own self-imposed celibacy. He had thought she just meant to annoy him.

It’s not until she slams him against the wall of the ship that he realizes what she has in mind and even then he hesitated, hand going to his blaster just in case she was looking for a fight.

There’s a lazy, sharp smile on her violet face as she presses her body against him. She is warm even through the armor. In one hand she holds a knife, while she balances herself on the wall with the other.

One of the things he likes about wearing the helmet is that, no matter how much he panics on the inside, he manages to stay emotionless with it. And though he’s not exactly panicking now, he’s still grateful that he doesn’t have to look at her on the eye.

“I’ve noticed the way you look at me,” she slurs. Mando knows for a fact that she can drink them all under the table, but they had just finished a big job and the money was plenty as were the drinks. Xi’an is tipsy at best and still a prodigy with her pointy blades. “It can’t be easy to cook up all that tension inside that armor, _Mando_.” She purrs.

That’s what everyone calls him, what he has started to call himself in his own head. He could remember the last time someone had uttered his real name.

Suddenly, he wished he could drink along with them. Just to forget.

“I could give you a _hand_ with it, ya know?” One of her fingers draws circles in his breastplate, while the others still hold the knife. “We are a team, meant to help each other and all.”

“Your brother is in the next room,” he points out.

Xi’an snorts. “Passed out, the weak bastard. Can’t believe we are blood.”

Sometimes he can’t believe it either. For all her sins, there’s no denying that Xi’an is… attractive. When she’s not showing her teeth at him and hissing, she's more than pleasant to look at. The same can’t be said about Quin.

The corridor is narrow and it’s made tighter each time Xi’an moves closer. Tentatively, his hand moves away from the blaster and moves to her waist. He meant to push her away and put distance between them, but Xi’an takes it as an invitation.

Suddenly, it is not just the warmth of her body he feels through the armor, but _all_ of her. She’s both soft and hard. He wouldn’t have expected anything less from her. Her chest is pressed against his and one of her legs is slipping between his. The blade is out of sight and her hand is gone to play with the fabric of his clothes.

“They are not coming out,” he warns, still not sure of what he’s doing. He’s sure he’ll come to regret it though. “The helmet isn’t either.”

Something playful, and thus dangerous, shines in her eyes. It’s gone in a second and her smile widens. “Afraid I’ll run to the hills when I see your face? Mmm… What are you hiding under this Mando?” She tapped the helmet with a finger. “Are you even human?”

He doesn’t grant her an answer and she huffs dismissively, clearly disappointed because he hasn’t taken the bait.

Her hand toys around with his belt and the notches of it, tugging lightly. There’s a heat forming inside his own body now and the armor is feeling heavier and hotter by second.

“Fine then, as long as you are _humanly_ sized.” She laughs and before Mando could regret his decisions, her hands went under his shirt feeling his stomach, abdominal muscles and ribs. “No funny business.”

Her fingers are cold, unlike the rest of her, with calloused tips that speak of her abilities. The feeling isn’t a bad one and Mando tries to regain some control by hardening his grip over her, pulling her closer. She digs her nails on him in return. Mando doesn’t hate it.

One of her hands wonders below his belt, while the other makes way to his neck. Mando would like to move his own hands, but he is uncertain of her reaction (she might snap and bite him for the sake of it) or even _where_ to move them.

The pleasant sensation is gone when he feels her fingers move away from his neck and go to his helmet, viciously yanking it up. He feels the cold air of the ship against his chin and then he’s gripping her wrist with such force that might actually snap it, making her stumble, while pulling down the helmet to hide what’s been exposed.

Xi’an screeches, rising from the floor and punching him in the gut with enough strength to make him feel it through the armor. Then she hisses as pain sparks on her hand.

Mando pushes her away, making way to his room as shame inexplicably claws at his throat. He feels stupid. He feels like picking up a fight with her, like they’d do once in a while, but mostly, he feels tired. And used, though he'll keep that to himself.

"Kriffing hell!" He hears her yelling behind him, cursing. “Come on Mando! You can’t blame a woman for being curious.”

He gets back at her years later, though not purposely, when he leaves her brother to be caught while saving himself.

When the bald man asks her if she has seen his face, the memory comes to the front of his head.

“A lady never tells,” she says with laughing eyes and smirk.

Xi’an brings a bad taste to his mouth. Mando hasn’t missed her.

**Author's Note:**

> ...thoughts?


End file.
